Enter Trigger, a young band hailing from Australia, the land of too much sun and great metal. Cryogenesis, released way back when in July of 2017, is chock full of the blurring of the lines between thrash and power that we referenced in the opening paragraph. I pounced on this album once realizing it wasn’t just a power metal album with impressive hooks in tow but also a science fiction conceptual epic. Under eventual and multiple listens, it quickly became apparent that Cryogenesis was a good album and an impressive effort for a second release but also an album which exemplifies many of the pitfalls of its sub-genre. At its core, Cryogenesis is motivated by big choruses and fast riffing but suffers from a muddled middle section, leaving the listener yearning for more.

A small, personal preface before we begin: if you’re wondering about the slew of Ayreon related content on the blog lately, this album is the reason. Ayreon has always been of my favorite artists but I’ve had a rough time connecting with his latest releases. Spoiler: The Source changes all that and has allowed me to reconnect with one of my all time favorite musicians. There aren’t a lot of things as great as that out there, the rush of familiarity, nostalgia and enjoyment that breaks down the barriers of suspicion and anxiety that come before a beloved artist releases new work. Fortunately, in this case, my worries were completely misplaced.

One of the things I love about having the opportunity to review albums is checking out bands that are just gaining a foothold beyond their local scene. Greensboro, NC metalheads, Undrask, are one of those bands I probably wouldn’t have learned about if not for having a copy of this album slid over to me by the Heavy Blog editors—but I’m glad it did.

Honesty is refreshing so let’s start with some of that: Heavy Blog has always, and continues to be, most about progressive metal. We’ve certainly expanded our tastes in the past and we’re looking to push that even further in the future, but progressive metal has a dear, close place to…

For Fans Of is a column that takes one very well-known and popular band that our writers and readers are fans of, and then our staff write about a small group of lesser-known bands that do similar things and who we think you all might like as well and give a listen to.…

With the omnipresence of media and the inevitable homogenization of media, it only feels right to start covering some aspects of video games here on Heavy Blog is Heavy. You may remember at the end of 2014, we posted a review of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- due to its heavy…

An odd combination, to be sure, but both powerful bands with legacy, Symphony X and Overkill struck out on the road a few weeks back to take North America by storm. New Jersey’s progressive power metal act have just released their ninth album, Underworld [review], after a storied two decade…

There’s simply no denying that Swedish melodeath giants Arch Enemy are one of the hardest working touring bands in the genre right now. Ever since the band had its rebirth with several key new members (vocalist Alissa White-Gluz and guitarist Jeff Loomis) and the release of War Eternal, the band…

For those who missed our last installment, We post biweekly updates covering what the staff at Heavy Blog have been spinning. Given the amount of time we spend on the site telling you about music that does not fall neatly into the confines of conventional “metal,” it should come as…

Even in just the past five years, the meaning and idea behind what it means to be a progressive metal band has completely shifted. A genre once firmly rooted in neoclassical fretboard acrobatics and Halford-fueled vocal performances has now turned towards the more extreme, the more unpredictable, and the much…